L.A. Chamber Orchestra Performs Bach’s Goldberg Variations as part of Westside Series

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Westside Chamber Series features a musical twist with Bach’s Goldberg Variations for String Orchestra, led by Concertmaster Margaret Batjer, on Saturday, March 12, 2022, 8 pm, at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Bach’s monumental work, comprised of 30 variations originally written for solo keyboard and published in 1741, gained prominence in the twentieth century with pianist Glenn Gould’s famed 1955 recording of it and garnered further exposure with violinist Dmitry Sitkovetsky’s 1984 arrangement for strings, the version LACO’s is presenting. The brilliant arrangement for strings – dedicated to Glenn Gould – honors note-for-note Bach’s seminal work, long a staple of the piano repertoire, while imbuing it with a fresh new musical perspective that brings to the work an entirely different spectrum of timbre and sonorities.

Batjer, lauded for her “gleaming warmth” (Los Angeles Times), “high-flying” performances and ability to make “her instrument purr and soar…with an engrossing combination of intensity and technical fluency” (San Francisco Classical Voice), is “downright exciting to watch and hear” (Violinist.com). She has served as concertmaster of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra since 1998, which has featured her on numerous world premieres and CDs, including a Deutsche Grammophon recording of Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins with violinist Hilary Hahn.

LACO recognizes the generous support of the Colburn Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Steinway is the official piano of Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. The Orchestra also receives public funding via grants from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets are $58 and may be purchased online at laco.org or by calling LACO at 213 622 7001 x1. Discounted tickets are also available by phone for seniors 65 years of age and older and for students.

COVID SAFETY PROTOCOLS
LACO is committed to the health and safety of its patrons, artists and staff and will require proof of full vaccination for everyone attending in-person LACO events. Social distancing will be implemented and, under current Los Angeles County guidelines, masks will be required indoors at all times. Audience members are encouraged to wear face masks with at least two layers, such as a KN95 or surgical mask. LACO will continue to exceed state and local guidelines, recommendations and requirements for indoor activities. For the most current information on LACO’s COVID safety protocols, visit LACO.org/covid-19.

LACO’s vaccine requirement for all eligible audience members includes a COVID-19 booster obtained no later than the date of performance.

Eligibility for the COVID-19 booster is as follows: for all Moderna recipients and Pfizer recipients ages 12 , boosters are eligible five months after their second vaccine dose. Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients are eligible for a booster dose two months after their initial vaccine

LOS ANGELES CHAMBER ORCHESTRA (LACO) ranks among the world’s top musical ensembles. Beloved by audiences and praised by critics, the Orchestra is a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and, with eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, a champion of contemporary composers. Headquartered in the heart of the country's cultural capital, LACO has been proclaimed “America’s finest chamber orchestra” (Public Radio International), “LA’s most unintimidating chamber music experience” (Los Angeles magazine), “resplendent” (Los Angeles Times), and “one of the world's great chamber orchestras"(KUSC Classical FM). Performing throughout greater Los Angeles, the Orchestra has made 32 recordings, including, most recently, a 2019 BIS Records release of works for violin and chamber orchestra that features Concertmaster Margaret Batjer and the world premiere recording of Pierre Jalbert’s Violin Concerto (a LACO co-commission). In 2020, due to the global pandemic, LACO pivoted from presenting live performances to producing the groundbreaking CLOSE QUARTERS interdisciplinary digital series melding musical and visual arts, which has garnered more than 1.8 million views across social media platforms since its debut in November 2020. The “digitally native” programs, created specifically for streaming and applauded as “musically and artistically compelling” (Los Angeles Times) have “redefined how classical music can be presented in the 21st century (Cultural Attaché). LACO, with offices located in downtown Los Angeles, has toured Europe, South America and Japan, and performed across North America. www.laco.org.